Takoyaki

Japanese Octopus Dumpling Balls
Takoyaki

Hot from the pan, these dumplings are lightly crisp but they lose their crispness in less than a minute. That’s to be expected and is part of takoyaki’s unusual nature. If you’d like, substitute 1 1/3 cups homemade dashi for the dashi powder and water. Takoyaki dumplings are meant to be eaten hot from the pan (I’ve burnt my tongue several times) so line up your guests. See the tip on using a plastic bag to pipe out the mayonnaise in nice lines.

Makes about 16 dumplings, to serve 3 to 4 as a snack

Batter
6 ounces (1 1/3 cups) cake flour, such as Swansdown brand
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons instant dashi powder
1 large egg
1 1/3 cups water

Filling
3 large cooked shrimp, cut into peanut-size pieces (brimming 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons finely chopped scallion, white and green parts
2 tablespoons Japanese red ginger shreds or finely chopped pickled ginger, gently squeezed to remove excess moisture
2 tablespoons finely chopped green cabbage (omit hard center spine)

1 to 2 tablespoon canola oil

Garnishes
About 3 tablespoons Japanese tonkatsu sauce, Worcestershire sauce, or Chinese black vinegar
About 3 tablespoons mayonnaise (optional)
1 1/2 tablespoons aonori (ground dried seaweed), or 1 full-size sheet toasted nori (seaweed), cut into short, thin pieces
1/2 cup loosely packed Japanese dried bonito flakes (katsuo-bushi)
strips

1. To make the batter, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and dashi powder in a bowl. Make a hole in the center. Whisk together the egg and water, then whisk into the dry ingredients to form a smooth batter. Transfer to a measuring cup. Set aside to bloom for at least 15 minutes, or cover with plastic and leave at room temperature for as long as 2 hours.

2. Have the filling ingredients ready near the stove, along with the batter. Make sure the garnishes are ready too as the dumplings are best eaten hot from the pan.

3. Heat the pancake puff, aebelskiver, or takoyaki pan over medium heat. Brush a light coating of oil in each well. Aim for a moderately warm pan as if you’re making pancakes. Too hot of pan will form craters on the surface and you want a smooth finish on these dumplings.

When the pan is sufficiently hot, pour batter into the pan to just shy of the rim. If your burner has hot spots, fill the wells above those hot spots last. If anything, there should be just a light sizzle when the batter hits the pan. Lower the heat if the sizzling is loud as that’s a sign that the pan is too hot.

4. Add 1 or 2 pieces of shrimp and generous pinches of scallion, ginger, and cabbage to each well. The batter level will rise a tad. Then wait for about 1 minute until the edges have begun to set or small bubbles have formed at the rim. When that happens, use two skewers to loosen each dumpling around the top edge and flip it over. Expect the dumplings to be pale in color at this stage.

Don’t fret about doing it neatly. Aim to flip it over when there’s still enough loose batter to form a round underside; some may look like Pacman but that’s fine. After about 1 minute, the batter should have set on the other side and you can tuck the dumpling into the well to cook evenly into a nice round shape.

Keep turning and rotating the dumpling for about 5 minutes, until the dumplings are golden and crisp. Use the skewers to transfer (stab the dumpling if you must) the dumplings to a plate. Let cool for about 1 minute before serving. Meanwhile, oil and repeat the cooking to make more takoyaki dumplings.

5. To serve, drizzle the tonkatsu sauce and mayonnaise atop the dumplings. Follow by sprinkling with seaweed and finish with the bonito flakes. Eat with forks or skewers, should you want to mimic the act of eating takoyaki on the street.

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